Stuck in the Middle
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: “Dump her or I'm quitting the team!” “Kick her off the team or I'm breaking up with you!” What's James Potter to do?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Stuck in the Middle

Summary: "Dump her or I'm quitting the team!" "Kick her off the team or I'm breaking up with you!" What's James Potter to do?

Note: I don't know how long this is, but I, personally, like the idea of poor James getting caught up in a cat fight. It probably won't be uberly long. But maybe no less than ten chapters?

Chapter 1

James Potter and Sirius Black were sitting in the very back of the History of Magic classroom, both of them bored out of their skulls.

_Why didn't the two of them sit with us? _ James asked on a spare bit of parchment, inclining his head to the redhead and raven-haired girls at the front of the classroom.

The redhead was doing her best to take notes and ignore the other girl, who was, out of boredom, balancing her quill on her nose and trying to catch the redhead's attention.

_Well, I can't explain for Evans. _Sirius wrote. _But Moore hates my guts. I don't think you could get her to sit near me unless you paid her._

_True. _ James wrote back.

_Wish they had at least sat nearby._ Sirius wrote, looking a bit sour. He glanced instead at Peter, who had taken the empty desk beside him and was fast asleep, drooling slightly.

_Can't always get what we want, sad to say. _James wrote.

_That's for sure. _Sirius rolled his eyes and yawned before glancing at his watch. And received a shock when he realized there was only a minute or so left in the lesson.

Nearly everyone else realized that, too, and began to pack their things, unnoticed by Binns. When the bell rang, signaling the end of lessons and the start of lunch, Gen began to slowly pack her things while Lily packed away her quill, parchment, ink, and book at top speed.

"You don't mind -- ?"

"Go right ahead." Gen sighed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "I'm sure he misses you."

"He can't." Lily smiled. "It's not even been, what, an hour and a half since I've spoken to him?"

"We all know how James gets." Gen said with a very small smile. "So, go on. Before he thinks you're cheating on him or planning to break up with him or whatever he's thinking."

"Save you a seat at lunch?" Lily asked, stopping at the doorway and watching Gen, who waved her hand dismissively.

"I have to finish Sluggy's homework." Gen muttered. "I'll be in the library, so don't bother."

"I can help." Lily offered. "That way you don't have to miss all of lunch. I know you want to try to snag a seat by a certain sandy-haired Marauder."

Gen shook her head and headed out the classroom without another word to Lily, setting off in the direction of the library instead of following most of the school towards the Great Hall.

Lily was tempted to follow Gen, but shrugged the feeling away and headed tot he Great Hall, snagging a seat by James and acting as though she hadn't seen him.

"Moore's not coming?" Sirius asked immediately, even before a greeting was exchanged.

"She's in the library, finishing up Slughorn's essay." Lily replied. "Didn't seem to be in the most cheerful of moods, but when is she ever?"

"Ah, don't talk that way about Gwennie." James smiled. "Even though it is true."

Lily smiled at him and said, "Oh, come off it. She wouldn't do anything but sulk if she heard us saying such. And that's nothing really out of the norm, now is it?"

"Lay off, at least until next weekend, AFTER the match against Slytherin." James said with a small smile.

"Quidditch." Lily huffed.

"I'm with you on that one, Evans." Sirius said before taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. "Him and Moore, I'm going to hate to see them during the Quidditch season next year. No school to keep them from going to the matches. And fighting with each other about teams."

He sighed dramatically, then winced as James accidentally twitched his foot, kicking Sirius square in the shin.

"I think I'll just go to watch them bicker." Lily smiled. "It's got to be something if it's going to be anything like them bickering when they aren't playing a match here."

"Talk about me like I'm not even here. I see how you lot want to be." James said, ending with an enormous fake sniffle. "I'll just join Moore in the library, where I'm probably not wanted either, but it's better than sitting here with you two."

James grinned at the two of them before picking up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder, and leaving the Hall, only to be met by the sound of Lily's and Sirius's racing footsteps.

They did not go far. Gen, who had bumped into Remus in the library, and who had helped her as much as he could with Slughorn's assignment, was heading to the Great Hall for a late lunch, chatting away with Remus, who was nodding at whatever it was she was saying.

James glanced at Sirius, who scowled, but said nothing. "Hey, Moore," he called as Gen and Remus neared them. "Evans and Sirius were talking bad about us."

"Oh?" Gen asked, shifting her books to her other arm. "About?"

"Us and Quidditch. I don't think I need to elaborate."

Gen managed a tiny smile before saying, "Well, whatever it was, and however bad it was, I'm sure it was probably true. Nothing to get angry about."

"You can't get angry with Evans anyway, can you?" James demanded as the five of them began their little trip, once again, to the Great Hall.

Gen shrugged, unsure of what to answer. She supposed she could get mad at whomever she wanted, for whatever reason it may be. She couldn't really make promises to that. Could she?


	2. Chapter 2

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 2

Gen sighed weakly and settled in her chair, waiting impatiently for Potions to be finished. She loathed Potions. And now did not have Lily's help. She was, instead, sitting with James.

"Something I never thought I'd see."

"What's something you never thought you'd see?" Remus asked, sitting next to her and beginning to unpack his things.

"Lily and James." Gen answered shortly.

Remus glanced over at them, then gave her a sympathetic smile. "Oh, they'll come around."

"Hmm." Gen began to unpack her things as well and set to work on that day's potion.

A half hour later, she was feeling quite frustration. Tucking a stand of hair behind her ear, she glanced at her potion, which was a very deep eggplant shade. By then, it was supposed to sky blue and bubbling lightly.

She glanced at Remus, who was smiling faintly at her potion.

"Oh, shut up." she said, sticking her tongue out at him. Then she managed a tiny smile. "I'm pathetic at Potions. Stop laughing."

"I'm not." he told her. He returned to his own potion, which was the shade it was supposed to be, but it, too, remained still.

Not wanting to glance at the front of the classroom, she fixed her gaze on the potion in her cauldron. Reluctantly, she prodded at it with her wand. One lone little bubble popped out of her potion and floated on the table between herself and Remus before popping.

Remus shook his head, suppressing a smile. "You ARE terrible at Potions, aren't you?"

"I told you." Gen giggled.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were still laughing at her failed potion attempt. And the scorch mark the supposedly harmless bubble had left on the table.

"Remind me to never sit near you in Potions again." Remus smiled.

"Remind me to skip every Potions lesson this year. I'm sure I'd have a better grade than I do now." Gen said, shifting her bag to her other shoulder.

She was glad there were no more lessons for the day. And the weekend started tomorrow. Though, the thought of Quidditch practice that night was nagging at her. She had homework due on Monday, heaps of it, but she figured she had the entire weekend to finish.

Thankfully, there were no Hogsmeade trips until the next month.

She took her time making her way to the Common Room, not feeling very hungry. Remus had left her on the way to dinner, so she was pretty much by herself, except for Peeves, who found her a proper person to annoy.

He floated behind her, blowing raspberries in sync with her steps and making efforts to snatch at her bag.

Gen did not even say anything to the poltergeist. She knew better than to bait him, even if he was getting on her nerves.

Thankfully, she lost him on the fourth floor. He spotted a couple lurking firsties in the halls and chased after them instead, cackling.

There were no more distractions until she reached the Common Room. Where she found Lily, no idea how she had gotten ahead of her, already settled at a table and working on her Charms homework.

"Not hungry either, Gwennie?" she asked, glancing up at the sound of Gen dropping her bag to the floor.

"No." Gen replied with a scowl. She had no idea why she was feeling so bitter at the moment.

Instead of looking at Lily to see her reaction, she sank down into the nearest chair and shut her eyes. She nudged her bag under her feet and propped them up, seriously considering napping, or, better yet, telling James she was skipping practice that night.

"Gen, are you feeling... well... not very normal?" Lily asked softly. She was unsure of how to put it. Gen, being bi-polar, was usually in a foul mood for no reason. And she knew well enough to ask calmly, and in a gentle way, than to flat out ask her.

"I feel fine." Gen said coolly. "Actually, I wouldn't mind a nap, but other than that, I feel great."

"OK..." Lily said, not believing her. But she returned to her homework without question.

The two of them stayed, alone, in the Common Room, Gen in her chair, and Lily finishing her homework, until the portrait hole creaked open and in stepped James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius.

"Budge up, Moore." James said cheerfully, nudging her chair with his foot. "I need you awake for practice."

Gen merely opened an eye lazily and glared at him.

To her right, Lily was making gestures at James, trying to get him to lay off. James immediately removed his foot from the chair, but continued to watch Gen before sticking his tongue out at her.

Gen rolled her eyes and slowly got to her feet, stretching, before heading upstairs to get her broom. "Better get this over with." she muttered, giving her bed a longing glance before shouldering her broom and heading back down to the Common Room, thinking that maybe the weekend would go better for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 3

Quidditch practice was, for a lack of a better word, hell. Gen found herself dragged off to the hospital wing for a broken nose, which did not help her mood.

But the hall was deserted on her way back to the Common Room. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, having brushed aside James's offer to stay with her and walk her back.

"I'm a big girl," she had said, "nothing's going to get me."

She shifted her broom to her side as she made it to the portrait hole. Where she found the Fat Lady not there.

"Great." Gen leaned against the wall, vaguely, make that very, very vaguely, wishing she had brought her backpack with her. There was no telling how long the Fat Lady was going to be gone.

Somewhere near her head, to the right, the portrait hole swung open and Gen found herself on her feet, grasping for the side and begging, "Hold it open, please!"

Remus glanced at her in surprise, then smiled. "The Fat Lady taken a leave of absence?"

"More like getting wasted in somebody's portrait." Gen sighed, reaching for her broom and heading inside, thanking Remus as she passed, where she immediately found herself face-to-face with Airic Roberts, who had been the one to hit the Bludger in her face in the first place.

"Hey, Moore, sorry about that -- "

Gen brushed off the fifth year's stammers with a wave of her hand and made her way to the girls' staircase, where Lily, her cousin Marci, and their other friend, Celeste, were coming down.

"Hey, you're not going to bed already?" Marci asked.

"Yeah, spoil our evening." Celeste teased.

Gen stared at the three of them before coldly saying, "I am going to bed. I am, hopefully, going to sleep all weekend. I do not want to be disturbed. I do not want to do homework. And I do not want Black stealing Potter's broom and pounding on the window to harass me. Good night."

"Nice girl." Celeste muttered as the three of them made their way to one of the empty couches in the corner of the room.

Lily scowled at her as the three of them settled on the couch. "Can you blame her, though? How many times has she had her nose broken during Quidditch practice? And I mean practice. Not the matches themselves."

"She needs to quit." Marci sighed.

"Are you kidding?" James demanded as he and Sirius made their way over to the girls. "She's one of my best players."

"One?"

"The other being me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, we didn't ask your opinion. Or you two to come over here. So can we leave this be and you two go back where you came from?"

"Nice." James said, grinning. He politely flopped down between Marci and Lily, making himself comfortable. He glanced up at Sirius and added, "There's room next to Helms, mate. Make yourself cozy."

It was quite the sight, seeing the five of them squashed together on the couch, the three girls looking livid and the two boys looking content.

Marci was the first to squeeze herself free, a bit angry that Sirius had not joined her. She managed to pull Lily, and the two of them managed to pull Celeste, off the couch, to the feeble protests of the boys.

Finding nowhere else they could go, the three of them reluctantly headed to the girls' dorm.

The curtains hiding Gen's bed was pulled, so the three of them settled on Marci's bed, the furtherest from Gen's, and spoke only in whispers, immediately quieting whenever they heard Gen's blankets moving or the bedsprings creaking.

Finally, however, she could take no more of their quiet conversation and pulled the curtains back. "I'm not asleep, you know." she told them.

"Sorry, we thought -- "

"Potter and Black wouldn't let us be, that's why we came up here."

Gen sighed softly and flopped back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She ignored the other three as they exchanged looks between themselves, wondering whether or not they would be better downstairs with the Marauders.

But they took their chances and Lily timidly asked, "Gen, I know I asked earlier, but are you feeling OK? Can't Madam Pomfrey give you something for your... mood swings?"

"I'm not the one who needs something." Gen grumbled.

"What does that mean?" Celeste snapped, getting to her feet. "Lily's done nothing to you."

Gen stared at them all for a moment before pulling her curtains back, silently answering that question.


	4. Chapter 4

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 4

"Did... Gen say anything to you at practice Friday? She's been ignoring us, and being quite..."

"Attitudinal?" James suggested.

It was Monday evening and the two of them were walking back to the Common Room from the library. Lily was clutching her books to her chest, frowning, wondering about her friend's sudden attitude.

James had his books tucked under his arm, watching Lily out of the corner of his eye.

"Listen," he began, grabbing her arm and dragging her into a deserted corridor hidden behind a moth-eaten tapestry, "I know she's had a rough summer, but I do not know anything else. She hasn't spoken much to me. But it hasn't been in the snippy way she's been with you and the other girls."

"I can talk with her if you want me to," he added, watching as a sullen-looking female ghost glided along the corridor, "but I can't guarantee and answer."

"Thank you." Lily smiled.

"It's no problem."

"You know," Lily began as they resumed their walk to Gryffindor Tower, "I don't get it. Why does she open up to you?"

James shrugged. He did not have the answer to that, either.

"She needs somebody to open up to. I guess I give off that aura."

"Been reading Remus's Divination book?" Lily asked with a small smile.

"Well, Sirius got mad the other night, threw it Peter since it was the first thing he got his hands on..." James trailed off with a smile.

Lily said nothing, merely resorting biting her lip to hold back what she wanted to say and shaking her head.

"What?" James asked. "Go on. Say it. Are we... idiotic gits? Immature? Go on..." he teased. "I won't get mad."

Lily sighed softly and brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Oh, you guys are just too much sometimes and I am very glad I don't have to share a dorm with you lot."

"You're lucky, then." James grinned.

"Oh, no. I think we've got it worse sometimes. Sharing a room with Gen, especially in this mood? Yeah, I'll take Sirius and having books thrown at my head, thanks."

By then, the two of them had reached the portrait hole. After saying the password, James helped Lily through the portrait hole and watched as she headed off to Marci and Celeste before heading over to Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

"Have fun in the library?" Sirius smirked, looking up from his Astronomy essay. "Personally, I don't find it the best place to snog a girl. But to each their own, I suppose."

James glanced at Remus, who rolled his eyes and immediately returned to his own Astronomy essay.

"Like Madame Pince would let you snog anyone in there." James scoffed. "And anyway, we weren't doing that, thank you."

"Suuure."

"Actually," James said, ignoring Sirius, "she wanted me to talk to Moore."

"Won't be getting to that tonight." Remus muttered. "I saw her heading to the girls' dorm a little while ago."

James groaned softly and tossed his books onto the table. Should he start on Astronomy or History of Magic? Both were dull, but he could not put either off, as they were both due the next day.

With a small sigh, he pulled his Astronomy textbook out of his bag and began to write.

An hour later, and most of the Common Room cleared out, he dotted his final i with a flourish. He did not care for the errors that he knew existed. He had never had a perfect Astronomy essay yet, and he was not about to start.

At least it was done.

Now for the even more boring essay. He pulled out his History of Magic book and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to feel a little bit sleepy. But he had to finish this, especially since it was the first lesson in the morning.

"Getting tired?" Sirius asked, watching him. "You can copy mine if you want."

"Thanks, but no. I'll do my own. Not like Binns would ever know we copied, but still. McGonagall could walk in or something."

"Yeah, that's true." Sirius said, getting to his feet and stretching. "I'm going to bed. 'Night."

"Sleep tight, Sirius."

James soon engrossed himself on vampiric influences on magical wars of the 1800s. Something that bored him beyond anything he had ever experienced. And sitting there, reading the book and working on the essay, that seemed worse than sitting in the classroom with Binns droning.

By the time he had finished his essay, it was well past midnight. He and Remus, the only two left in the Common Room, dragged themselves up the stairs and into their dorm. Surely he could hold off talking to Gen until their workload had lessened.


	5. Chapter 5

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 5

It was History of Magic, and James was well beyond bored. He found himself seated next to Gen, which turned out to be rather convenient.

He pulled out a bit of parchment and wrote, '_Hey, Gwennie. What's the matter with you?'_

_'Nothing.' _she wrote back. _'I'm fine, thank you.'_

_'Fine? If you're fine, I'm a Slytherin. And last I checked, I was far from it. What's on your mind?'_

_'Like it matters to you, Potter. Now leave me be.'_

She refused to answer any more notes he slid her way. She also opted to ignore him as he pulled at her hair to try to get her attention.

But finally, she could take it no longer. "What?" she hissed in a whisper, turning to face him.

"What is the matter?" James asked. "Lily says you've been taking your anger out on her and the other girls. You seemed fine to me, but now you've taken a snippy attitude with me as well. What is it?"

Gen looked at him in surprise. "Nothing, OK? Besides being my old bi-polar self, I'm FINE."

James opened his mouth to counter her, but the bell rang and she was, for a change, one of the first ones out of the classroom, knocking Peter aside in her haste.

Lily was waiting for him outside the classroom. Before she could even ask, he said, "She says she's FINE." His 'fine' was done in a high imitation of her voice.

"Physically, yes. Mentally... well, I'm starting to think she's a lost cause." Sirius said, joining them. "Nice imitation, by the way."

Lily rolled her eyes at the two of them. "I have Arithmancy next. I'll see you two later."

"Whereas I have a free period." James said with a small smirk as he watched Lily fight her way to the stairs. "And I think, despite the homework I should be doing, it is better spent on the Quidditch Pitch."

While he was enjoying himself, Gen dragged herself up to the Divination tower. Without a word, she flopped down at the table next to Remus and dropped her bag beside her.

"Rough morning?" he asked sympathetically.

"Terrible." Gen muttered. "But I shan't bore you with the details."

"No, please, I can handle being bored with details." Remus said with a tiny smile.

Gen glanced at him, then quickly looked away. "Have I... been acting strange to you?" she asked softly. "Lily and James both agreed I've changed. I don't think I'm the one who's changed here. What do you think, Remus?"

Remus jumped a bit in surprise. "No... not really." he said, feeling a bit strange. "Not that I know of. Besides what I've heard, you've... been regular old Gwendolyn."

Gen was not too sure if she should believe that. "Thanks." she muttered dryly, returning to her book.

"I didn't mean it that way." Remus watched her for a second before asking, "What did you mean by 'I don't think I'm the one who's changed here'?"

Gen merely let out an annoyed sigh and turned the page of her book.

"Gwendolyn... I can see why people are saying this about you." he said softly. "Why do you think you haven't changed?"

"Because I haven't. It's not my fault my brain's out of whack." Gen muttered. "So can we please leave this be? I'd rather not discuss this."

"Fine." Remus muttered.

The two of them set to work, making the occasional comment about how stupid the subject was when Professor Menzil was out of earshot.

"Stupid." Gen said, shaking her head an hour later as the two of them headed to lunch. "Remind me why we took that again?"

"Because we couldn't decide what we wanted to do with ourselves?" Remus said, his eyebrows meeting in confusion. Was that the reason they had chose Divination over all the sensible subjects out there?

"Yeah, I think that makes sense." Gen giggled.

Remus smiled faintly at her. When she was in a happy mood, she was more than bearable. He just could not understand her sudden anger towards the other girls and James.

When they reached the Great Hall, she headed to the end of the Gryffindor table that was less crowded. But she was still smiling faintly to herself. That, he figured, was a good sign.

"You are a miracle worker, you know that, don't you?" James asked as he joined him, Sirius, and Peter.

"No, I don't." Remus shrugged. "It isn't that hard to talk to her. Maybe now that she's in a better mood, you and Lily can try. I don't think I'll be around all the time to sort out your problems."

James rolled his eyes. "I think I'll leave her be. I don't want her good mood evaporating so soon. And, besides, it's not really me she's got a problem with. It's Lily. She's the one who should be talking to her. Not me."

Remus had to admit that James had a point. But he could not shake the feeling that Gen would not be happy to talk to Lily right then.


	6. Chapter 6

Stuck in the Middle

Note: Sorry for the length.

Chapter 6

Deciding it be best to get out of the noisy Common Room, the girls stretched out on their beds with their books, trying to finish a foot-long Charms essay and a few star charts.

Gen was laying on her stomach, her feet hitting the wall occasionally as she stared at her Charms textbook, the end of her quill to her lips. Lily had propped herself against the wall, her feet tucked under her. Celeste was on her back, absently staring at the textbook she held over her head and silently hoping that the other girls would help her. Marci was sitting, her legs crossed under her, in the middle of her bed, reading with her chin propped in her hand.

"What is the point of an Invisibility Charm?" Celeste asked finally as she rolled over on her stomach and glanced at the other girls.

"To make things invisible?"

"Ha, ha, Lily. But really, this says it doesn't last too long, and it does not work on living things. So... point? None."

"Actually, if you were trying to sneak something, it would be great." Marci said softly, her eyebrows meeting as she did not tear her gaze away from her book.

"So... Flitwick's trying to get us to become shoplifters?"

She got a laugh from Lily and Marci, but not Gen. She rolled her eyes as Gen scratched something out with her quill.

Lily shook her head, while Marci did not see.

"Hey, Gwen, finished yet?" Celeste asked sweetly. "Because I could really use some help."

"Do your own essay." Gen grumbled, setting hers aside to dry. "Besides, why copy mine? We all know it's most likely wrong."

"I don't care if it's wrong. I just want it done. Please give it here?"

"Do your own." Gen repeated, diving into her back for her Astronomy book and incomplete star chart.

"Well, fine!" Celeste scoffed. "I'll do my own."

But she did not bother with her essay. She dropped her quill and slammed her book shut. "You know, you were fine until recently. When Lily and James hooked up. You've got no right to jealousy. Now grow up!"

She squealed and dove out of the way as a stream of yellow light shot from Gen's wand, which missed her by just a little bit. Instead, it hit the posters she had plastered on the walls.

"Hey! What was that for?" Celeste demanded, her cheeks flushing as she reached for her own wand.

"STOP IT!" Lily shouted, getting to her feet and pulling out her own wand. "QUIT IT, BOTH OF YOU!"

Gen stared at her, then chucked her wand in her bag and drew the hangings of her bed around her. Celeste huffed and sat down on her own bed, not dropping her wand.

"Are we even going to get through this year?" Lily asked, looking from Celeste to the hangings of Gen's bed.

"Apparently not." Celeste said hotly. "And before you even think to say it, Evans, I will NOT apologize until she does!"

"I have nothing to apologize for!" Gen said darkly. "You are the one who called me childish, you are the one who started this, you are the one that needs to apologize!"

"I think..." Marci began softly, not giving Celeste the chance to say anything to her cousin, "that the two of you need to think. Give us your wands and we'll leave you two up here to talk."

Celeste did not want to relinquish the hold on her wand, but handed it to Lily anyway as Marci fetched Gen's from her bag. She and Lily quickly left, both hoping neither of the girls would come to blows.

But Lily could not shake what Celeste had said from her mind. Gen hadn't been acting out. But she constantly said James was just her friend, only her friend and nothing more. She had even pushed the two of them together.

So what could it mean? Either Gen was completely messed up or something was going on that she would much rather not hear. But she figured it would be best to stay away and quiet for the time being. And not showing any forms of affection towards James around her. She hoped James would understand.


	7. Chapter 7

Stuck in the Middle

Note: Again, sorry for the length.

Chapter 7

Gen found herself to be very sleepy the following morning. She was quite thankful that the first lesson of the day was History of Magic and that she could sleep through.

But for some reason, she could not nod off.

She found herself stretching her fingers and itching to be away from the classroom. But it was too late to skip, even though it was far from likely Binns would really care, or notice, if she left.

She yawned and glanced at the other girls, who seemed, besides Lily, to be in their own little worlds. So there was no getting their attention.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pulled out a spare scrap of parchment, that she took to drawing on.

"Hey, lesson's over, let's get out of here."

She glanced up and caught Lily smiling sheepishly at her. "Come on." Lily goaded. "Free period. You can laze then. But first we've got to get to the Common Room."

"Fine," Gen muttered, surprised herself at how hostile she sounded. But she did not apologize as she swung her bag over her shoulder and followed Lily out of the classroom and to the Gryffindor Common Room.

She flopped down into the nearest empty chair and slipped off her shoes. Lily watched her as she began to rub her feet and swear to herself.

"Rough past few days?" Lily asked, following Gen's lead and slipping off her shoes.

"You can say that again." Gen grumbled. "On second though, don't. Please."

"I won't." Lily smiled. "But... why have you been angry with me? What did I do?"

"Oh, a lot of things." Gen muttered. "But I shouldn't say. It'll get to Celeste, and she'll call me jealous or whatnot."

"What is it?" Lily asked. "I'd like to change it, if I can."

"Well you can't." Gen snapped. She fumbled inside her bag for a clip and clipped her hair back. She glanced at Lily again, then asked, "This is going to sound offtrack, but do you still have that plum nail polish?"

"Petunia took it, and never gave it back." Lily said with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." Gen muttered. She waved her hand dismissively and half rose to go upstairs. Then, remembering she's a witch, sank back down in her chair and flicked her wand. The two of them could hear the distant sound of an opening trunk and soon a bottle of pale blue nail polish was hovering politely in front of Gen.

"When in doubt, go back to blue." Lily said softly. She felt as though she were talking to a stranger. She said nothing more as she watched Gen paint her toenails.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked finally.

Gen glanced up but said nothing.

"Can I borrow that?"

Gen capped the polish and tossed it to Lily, who caught it just by her fingertips. "Quidditch is not for you." Gen said with a tiny smile.

"Quidditch." Lily said, shaking her head as she unscrewed the lid to the polish. "You and James have that Quidditch on the brain syndrome, I swear."

"Oh?" Gen asked, cocking her head. "Hmm."

"What?" Lily asked, her toes half polished. She had stopped with the brush in midair, and was oblivious to the couple drops that splattered the rug under her. "What is it?"

"Nothing. I've got, ah, essay, needs to be done. Divination, you know."

She watched Gen as she fumbled around in her bag and pulled out parchment, ink, quill, and her book. She settled back into the chair, her knees drawn to her chest, her book propped up, and she began to scribble away.

"Look, would you stop it? I just want to help."

"You can't!" Gen snapped. She got to her feet, her things spilling onto the floor, and, in the case of her ink pot, shattered. "Leave it be."

Lily sighed softly as Gen raced upstairs. What had she done now?


	8. Chapter 8

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 8

James was sitting at an empty table in the library, working on plays and trying to see if he could think of what strategy the Ravenclaws were planning on without any glimpse at their practices when Gen walked up to him and tossed a pile of crimson robes onto his parchment.

"What -- ?"

"I quit." Gen replied, turning on her heel.

"What?" James demanded, shooting out of his chair and grabbing her arm. "But why?"

"Why else?" Gen asked, trying to get out of his grasp.

"But you can't! I won't let you. You're one of the best Chasers I've seen and -- "

Gen cut him off with a glare. "And yet Quidditch doesn't seem to be what's on your mind lately. Now drop it and find another Chaser."

"But -- " James cut himself off, grabbed the robes she had left on the table and his parchment, ink, and quill, and raced after her. "Come on, Gwen, we've got no chance if you don't play."

"Well you should have thought of that." she said sweetly. She stopped outside the library to tighten the strap on her shoe before hitching her bag in a better position and started to head back to the Common Room.

James, flustered, raced behind her.

"Come on, Moore," he began, panting slightly, "at least give me a proper reason for quitting! I can't let you quit without one."

Gen stopped again and turned to glare at him. "I don't think I need a reason. Now, if you would realize what you've done, then, yes, I would admit that that's why I'm quitting. Whereas now, you're too thick to see what's going on."

"Or you're not being obvious!" James spat. Then his expression softened. "I'm sorry. I wish you would talk to me instead of just pushing me away. You used to talk to me."

"And you used to listen."

By that time, the two of them had reached the portrait hole and Gen has muttered the password and was halfway in the Common Room. James made to grab at her bag, but she scurried inside and off to the girls' dorms where he could not get to her.

James groaned softly and flopped down in the nearest empty chair, the robes, parchment, quill, and ink settled in his lap.

Sirius managed to pull himself away from a sixth year named Emma long enough to lean over the back of James's chair and asked, "What happened? Spilled ink on your robes?"

"Moore is determined to resign." James muttered, staring at the floor.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"Tell me and we'll both know."

"Well, where is she?"

James said nothing, merely pointing over his shoulder to the girls' staircase. He heard Sirius swore, then saw him glancing around the room.

Finding none of the other girls, Sirius sighed softly and asked, "What did she say?"

"She just basically said I should find a new Chaser. Implied it was my fault, or so it seemed. Something about me not listening to her. I don't know. She wasn't being specific."

Sirius was feeling just as confused as James was. He could think of no reason whatsoever that Gen would WANT to quit the team. She seemed to enjoy it, despite the other three girls' feelings towards the sport.

While the two of them tried to figure out what could possibly cause Gen to want to quit, she was on her bed, running a brush through her hair. She tied it back and flopped back down on the bed.

Lily walked in, looking at Gen, who looked content, and sighed. "Do you have any idea what is up with James right now?"

"No idea." Gen replied, her voice sugary.

"You quit the team, that's what is bothering him." Lily said softly, sitting down on the edge of Gen's bed. "Why?"

"He should know." Gen murmured.

"But he doesn't." Lily said with another sigh. "Why won't you say why? Just tell him. I'm sure he won't get mad if it's for personal reasons or something..."

Gen glared at her and said, "Oh, but I would expect you to know, too. But I guess everyone around here is oblivious."

Lily stared at Gen before thinking 'Or everyone around here can't explain. I guess she's trying to protect us or something. But from what? James wouldn't be so hurt if she would just say what's bothering her.'

"I guess I can't make you talk," Lily said, getting up, "I'll save you a seat at dinner?"

"Don't bother, not hungry." Gen said, her tone now dark.

Lily crossed the room, her hand resting on the knob. "Why won't you talk to us?" she demanded. "It won't kill you to get something out."

"Why do you push things, Lily?" Gen spat. "Just drop it. I quit because of you, OK?"

Without another word, Gen got up, strode past Lily, pulled the door open herself, and left Lily standing there, confused.


	9. Chapter 9

Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 9

"She quit because of you?" James asked with a scoff.

He and Lily were sitting in the library, supposedly working on their Transfiguration homework, but instead had their heads together, discussing Gen.

"Well, that's what she said." Lily replied hotly. "Frankly, I'm starting to think we're a bit better off without her friendship, because she doesn't seem to care about any of us anymore."

James sighed faintly. Girls were too much sometimes. Especially ones like Gen.

But he was not ready to give up on her yet. He valued her friendship, and, plus, their match was drawing much, much closer, and he was sure he could find no other Chaser in the school that could match her.

Though, if he said that, Lily would huff off, muttering something about Quidditch. He would safely bet money on that.

"You can't give up on her." James said softly. "Come on, she's your best mate."

"I thought she was but best mates don't hate people for no reason." Lily said with a groan as she folded her arms over her chest.

"She's got to have a reason -- "

"Being bi-polar is not a reason!" Lily said in a dangerous whisper. "There is medication, Muggle and magical, that can fix that!"

James sighed again as she got to her feet, tossed her books in her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and left the library as quickly as she could.

"Women." James grumbled, packing his own bag, though much more slowly and much less haphazardly.

He slung his bag over his shoulder as well and headed out of the library.

He took his time heading back to the Common Room, his mind wandering. What was he going to do about another Chaser, especially if he could not make Gen see sense? And what was he going to do about her? This was not like her at all. And he was more than confused.

And Lily. Frankly, he did not want to take sides. And if she or Gen expected him to, he wasn't.

But what about his relationship with Lily? He did not want to put that in danger, for sure.

So, there was really no chance of him taking sides.

Hell, he wasn't even quite sure what they were arguing about in the first place!

It wasn't until he was settled comfortably in the chair nearest the fire in the Common Room that James realized just how tired he was. He found himself yawning, rubbing his eyes, and wanting to curl up in bed all weekend.

But he wasn't sure that was possible. Besides, he had homework.

He fumbled around in his bag and drew out his books. But he could not concentrate.

With a faint groan, he slammed his book shut and stuffed it back in his bag. He would worry with it in the morning.

On his way to their dorm, Sirius stopped him.

"Fight with Evans?" he asked as James flopped down in the chair next to him. Sirius was working on his homework, which was a good thing. James could probably convince him to let him copy it or something.

"What makes you think that?" James asked, stifling another yawn.

"She seemed pretty angry when she came by a little while ago."

With a tiny little sigh, James told Sirius what had happened between him and Lily in the library. Sirius let out a low whistle when he was finished.

"Quitting because of Evans?" he asked, twirling his quill between his fingers. "Do you get what that means?"

"No..." James began slowly. "Care to enlighten me?"

"It's really, really easy," Sirius began, "and so obvious you're going to kick yourself when I tell you."

"Just get it over with." James muttered, sounding uninterested. He was longing to get in his bed and figured that whatever Sirius was going to say was going to be pointless.

"Moore fancies you."

James was snapped back to attention very quickly. But he was skeptical.

"Gen?" he asked. "'Pining over Moony' Gen?" He ignored the look on Sirius's face. "And me? Sirius, do you realize how wrong that is? Gen's just a friend, and, yeah, OK, I've comforted her when she needed it, but really, do you honestly think so?"

"Yes, I do." Sirius said, returning to his work. "But if you'd rather not think so, I'll hold back the 'I told you so's when it turns out to be right."

James let out a loud groan and dragged himself upstairs to bed. But he could not sleep, as tired as he was. Could Sirius possibly be right?


	10. Chapter 10

Stuck in the Middle

Note: Sorry for the length. Next chapter shall be longer.

Chapter 10

'He's wrong, he's wrong, he's wrong!' James kept telling himself the next day. Even so, he was trying to keep himself from not getting caught alone with Gen.

What if Sirius WAS right?

Well, he just wouldn't think that.

He couldn't think that. It just simply wasn't true.

Nope, not true.

Just when he felt his brain was going to burst, James flopped down next to Remus at an otherwise empty table in the Common Room.

"Remus!" he shouted suddenly, sitting up quickly and sending just about everything flying off the table and nearly giving Remus a heart attack.

"What?" Remus asked, his eyes wide in surprise.

"YOU can talk to her!"

"I can? To who?" Remus asked, looking very confused now.

"Gen! She listens to you!"

"James I don't think she will..." Remus saw the crushed look on James's face and sighed softly. "I'll try." he muttered. "I can't promise anything at all, but I will try."

"Thanks mate." James said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I really appreciate it."

"You just want to win the Quidditch Cup." Remus muttered, getting to his feet as he spotted Gen curled up in a chair near the fire.

He sank down in the chair next to hers and asked, "So, what's on your mind, Gwendolyn?"

"Hmm?" She turned to face him, looking a bit preoccupied. "Oh, nothing really."

"Listen," Remus began, leaning closer to her, "James asked -- "

"I figured as much." she scoffed. "Why send you to be his errand boy?"

Remus shrugged. He wasn't too sure about that himself. "I guess he figures you won't listen to a word he'd say."

Gen glanced down at the floor, then shifted in her chair so that she was facing him. "And this is about reinstating me on the team, isn't it? I don't want to play. Not with him."

"Why?"

Gen sighed softly. She seemed to be wasting time as she pushed a strand of black hair behind her ear. Finally, though, she said, "Look, I love Quidditch. And I wouldn't mind playing again. But not with James. He doesn't seem..." she trailed off, searching for the right word.

"He doesn't seem what?" Remus asked when he felt she had stalled enough.

"Too... bothered with the team, I guess I can say."

"Oh?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow. "From what I've heard, he is."

"He's not." Gen snapped. She then glanced at the floor and muttered an apology.

"It's fine. But I don't think I'm the only person you need to apologize to."

Gen scoffed. "Right."

Remus waited a full minute before asking, "Well? Are you?"

Gen crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "I don't think that James Potter deserves an apology."

"Well, why not?" Remus was starting to grow very impatient with her. "Gen's, he's taken up for you, he's never done anything to hurt you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Gen got to her feet and grabbed her bag. "Well, Remus, you're wrong about that. He's done more than enough to me. So quit it. I don't want to be mad at you. So leave it alone!"

"No." Remus told her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back down in her chair. "Why are you skirting around this? What did he do? We could fix this if you would just explain what happened!"

"I don't think I have to explain. It should be obvious." Gen hissed, pulling her wrist out of Remus's grip. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed. And from the look of things, I think you should, too."

Remus scoffed and watched her head upstairs before getting up and heading over to James.

When Remus told James what Gen had said, James winced. Maybe Sirius WAS right.

What was he going to do?


	11. Chapter 11

Stuck in the Middle

Note: Might as well update this, I've got nothing else to update. And no new ideas for fics.

Chapter 11

Gen found herself sitting alone in the library one evening working on her Transfiguration. She was pretty sure she was on the verge of failure. She had just groaned softly and was about to slam her book shut and head to the Common Room when there was a tug at her sleeve.

"Can you get a book for me?"

What appeared to be a first year was pointing at the top shelf of the bookshelf next to Gen's table.

"Um, sure."

Gen got to her feet and grabbed the book the first year was pointing to. The first year thanked her and raced off.

'What I wouldn't give to be that age again.' Gen thought as she sat down at the table.

"Cute, wasn't she?"

Gen glanced up, then scowled. When had James gotten there? She did not feel like speaking to him. Period. And she tried to make that obvious by gathering her things.

But James had grabbed her book. And he had no plans to let it go.

"What?" she whispered as Madame Pince passed by. "Give me my book!"

"I want you to talk to me."

"Why?" she demanded, wondering if she could get away with not having her book. Of course she couldn't.

"We can't talk in the library." she added in a whisper. "Pince would bash our skulls in with her books or something. So get out of here. I've got work to do!"

"And so do I."

Gen stared at him. What work could James Potter possibly have to do? Nothing good she would bet.

"What?" she demanded again. "What work do you have?"

"The work to get you out of this snippy cloud you've been in." James said softly. "Now come on. Talk to me. You used to."

Gen huffed and turned her attention back to her homework. But she could not do it without her book. It looked as though James was going to get his way, as per usual.

"Fine." she whispered.

James smiled at her and said, "Nice of you to finally agree to talk to me, Moore. Now what's on your mind?"

"The fact that you've become a git?" she huffed.

"Since when have I been a git?" James demanded.

"Since you started dating Lily?"

James was silent for a moment or two. Then, he asked, "What do you have against Lily? I thought she was your best mate?"

Gen scoffed. "I thought so too."

James decided to change his question around a little bit. "What did she do to you?"

"What didn't she do, James? She turned her back on us, basically. All we hear out of her is James, James, James. And you are not helping anything."

"Well, do you want me to talk to her for you?" James offered.

"Like it would work." Gen muttered. She reached over, snatched her book from him and tossed it in her bag before he got the chance to stop her.

"Hey, Moore, wait up!"

She ignored James as he raced behind her as she left the library. She did not feel like speaking to him anymore. She felt she had nothing else to say to him. And that he did not deserve her attention.

But he was going to be persistent. "Gen!" He fumbled for her arm and managed to catch her.

"What?" she snapped. She dropped her bag and fumbled in her pockets for her wand.

"You won't hex me." he told her. "Let me ask you one last question. And then, I will let you go. I promise."

"Fine. Ask me."

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if she fancied him. But instead, he blurted out, "Please, will you reconsider joining the team? We need you before next weekend's match!"

"No," she spat, "I will not. Unless..."

"Unless?"

"You dump Evans."


	12. Chapter 12

Stuck in the Middle

Note: Ah, sorry about the length. I wasn't quite sure where I wanted to go, but I should pick it up next chapter.

Chapter 12

"She wants you to break up with Lily?"

Remus stared at James in disbelief. He could not believe that Gen would ask, or demand, that James break up with Lily.

"Yeah, I guess she wants me to choose between her and Lily." James sighed.

He had flopped down on his bed and was staring at the ceiling. That was impossible. Simply impossible. He couldn't break up with Lily. Nor could he win the Quidditch match without Gen.

"Maybe I could lie to her..."

"Lie about what?"

James did not realize he had spoken aloud. He sat up and gave Remus a sheepish smile.

"I was just wondering if I should lie to Gen to get her to play Quidditch. But she'd kill me. If she didn't find out before the match, she'd surely find out after."

Remus nodded. "It wouldn't be fair to her anyway. And I don't think she'd ever trust you again."

"Like she does now?" James asked bitterly. He then hung his head and muttered an apology.

"I think..." Remus began slowly, "that the only way we can figure out what's going on is by sitting down and talking to Gwendolyn. Make her listen to you and Lily."

"What, you mean by using a Full Body Bind?" James asked. It sounded like a good idea to him.

But Remus shook his head. "Just sitting her down and talking to her. It's the only way she'll let it out."

James scoffed. "Do you honestly think she'll sit and talk to me? Or Lily? The only reason she talked to me in the library was because if she shouted at me, Pince would have kicked her out."

That was true, Remus had to admit.

Before he could say anything, James added, "Well, why don't you talk to her? You can get through to her. And you can probably figure out what's on her mind."

"She didn't answer me directly, either." Remus reminded him.

'Maybe Sirius is right.' James flopped back down on his bed and finally realized he was so tired. He felt like he couldn't even hold his head up.

In fact, he was asleep within minutes.

Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm, Gen was sprawled out on her blankets, staring at the ceiling and wondering whether or not she had come off strongly.

She rolled over on her side and yawned. She was a bit sleepy, having pull several near all-nighters the past few days.

None of the other girls were in the dorm, so she basically had it to herself. But she felt lonely, even though she had been pushing people away lately.

Maybe she should go downstairs and try to find the other girls to apologize.

Or maybe not. It's not like anyone would appreciate her efforts.

'Yeah, I guess I can stay here and try to go to sleep.' she thought. She was still in her robes, having only slipped off her shoes. But she did not even feel like getting up to change into her pajamas, much less search the school for people who needed an apology.

She, too, nodded off within moments. But she was sleeping lightly, and was awoken by the sounds of the door slamming.

She glanced up and spotted Celeste and Lily, chattering away.

Neither of them seemed to care that she was trying to sleep. She rolled over, her back to them, and tried to drown them out as they talked.

Finally, when she felt she could take it no more, she sat up, grabbed her wand from her bedside table, and cast a quick Silencing Charm.

By then, Celeste and Lily had noticed her. And both were glaring at her.

Gen smiled faintly to herself and snuggled up under her blankets. She felt no more desire to apologize to the other girls, or James for that matter.

If they were going to be inconsiderate, then so could she.


End file.
